BOOM!
The impact was deafening.
Damian felt a crushing force slam into him, a weight ant to throw him back- ant to crumble his very body. And yet...
His body felt like an engine, roaring with even more power.
Five percent of his strength, veiled by Kitsuul, displayed 250 Entropic Energy Values.
That ant his actual number was 5,000.
And if 250 was already considered Tier III- the final tier of the Initiate Interstellar Beast Master level- then wasn’t 5,000 already within the realm of Symbiotic Resonance Interstellar Beast Masters?
It was only a logical thought for now, unconfird.
But in this mont, confirmation began to take shape.
The massive, malford creature in front of him- towering in its grotesque stature- wasn’t even capable of pushing him back. Damian absorbed the entire force hurled at him. He knew he could return it- push harder, throw the beast itself if he chose to.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he saw Serena’s Void Serpent sweep its tail- now a blaze of black fire- into the Behemoth’s face to drive it back.
He saw Lyra’s bouncing Blue Sli twist into a fierce expression and unleash a blinding wave of blue energy that smashed into the creature’s torso.
Near them, Ariana’s Winged Peacock Lion opened its jaws, revealing a fiery core before releasing a volatile fireball that hurtled into the Behemoth’s side.
anwhile, the other Trial Guardians moved- away from Damian and Lyra, away from the point of impact.
They made distance. Preserved their lives in case things turned worse.
Damian didn’t bla them. If he were weaker, he might’ve done the sa. But he noted it.
There were Beast Masters who would abandon their companions in an instant. And there were others who would stand and fight.
He waited- until the Void Serpent’s black flas, the Blue Sli’s energy wave, and the Winged Peacock Lion’s fireball struck the Entropic Behemoth- then he exerted force through his hands and sent the creature flying.
BOOM!
A fantastical scene unfolded in a second, and in the eyes of others... Damian alone had withstood the booming impact of the Behemoth’s limbs with his bare hands. And with the help of the other Trial Guardians’ attacks, he pushed it away- its massive body flung backward, smashing into the jagged red walls of earth.
...!
"Holy shit..."
"What the..."
The other Trial Guardians turned to stare at Damian, stunned, even as they repositioned. Serena herself looked toward him, her expression grim.
And then...
"ROAAR!"
The Behemoth bellowed, a guttural, bone-shaking roar of pain. Fractures webbed through its bones, muscle torn across its colossal body.
Not from the attacks of the others- but from the terrifying force transmitted through Damian’s hands.
Its body burned with black and crimson fire, but those were superficial wounds.
The fractures, the tears- those were critical.
"Don’t let up! Launch every ranged attack- we need to relocate now!"
Serena gave the order with practiced authority, aware that the Behemoth’s roar could draw more to their location.
In a place like this...
In the crimson skies and jagged earth of the Entropic Domain...
Sound was danger.
They had to kill, and move.
Just as Damian prepared to advance, Lyra suddenly rushed in front of him. Her eyes wide with shock, her hands reached for his, scanning them up and down as if she expected mangled bones.
The pure concern in her gaze made Damian sigh inwardly. He reached for Kitsuul through their bond, directing her.
Release an attack- immobilize the Behemoth, but mask it. Make it look like one of the others.
Kitsuul responded with a cheerful yelp of affirmation. Her six tails flared, one buzzing as it summoned a silver ball of light, following the sa arc as the river of poisonous black flas from Serena’s serpent, a new crimson fireball from Ariana’s and Alex’s Winged Peacock Lions, and multiple ranged blasts from other Beast Masters.
BOOM!
They all converged upon the Behemoth.
Kitsuul’s silver blast pierced through the creature’s skull- cutting clean through its neural core.
Its monstrous form stiffened. The once-tensed muscles of its body went limp as it collapsed in a heap, shaking the red earth beneath them.
"Get a move on!"
Serena gave her command the mont the creature fell. Her Void Serpent slithered forward, its tail piercing the cracked skull and digging out a radiant Obsidian Entropic Soft Crystal.
It darted back, joining the team, who now followed Serena as she led them toward an open cavernous path carved into the side of a rising red mountain.
Ariana and Alex, seated atop their beasts, looked composed. Others on foot breathed heavily, glancing between one another.
But inevitably... all eyes turned toward Damian.
"How the hell are you okay?" Alex asked, disbelief in his voice- the sa Glassblood Damian had humiliated during the Beast Master Trials.
Lyra’s eyes narrowed, her gaze like a blade.
"You want him not to be okay?"
Her voice dripped with venom. On his lion’s back, Alex raised both hands defensively.
"That’s not what I ant—"
"Hush!"
Serena’s voice cut through the tension. Stern. Final. Her serpent now coiled beside her, still pulsing with the crystal’s glow.
She spoke low, her eyes sweeping the jagged terrain around them.
"Talk later. We need to confirm no other Behemoths were drawn by the noise. Once the area’s clear, we continue."
Her tone left no room for argunt.
Lyra huffed and looked away. Ariana, still atop her Winged Peacock Lion, smiled faintly- and her eyes locked onto Damian’s.
He caught the look instantly.
The gaze of soone powerful... suddenly very interested.
Damian ignored it.
He looked forward. His eyes shone with silver light as he stretched his senses.
Ti in this Entropic Domain brought revelation.
Kitsuul’s body danced with growing activity as her silver fur seed to co to life. Their bond deepened. Stronger. More complete.
And from the surrounding atmosphere, thick with murky Entropic Energy, tendrils of power drifted toward her- absorbed into her fur and small fra like water into a sponge in an endless fashion.
More natural. More efficient... than even when she devoured the Obsidian Entropic Soft Crystals.
What...was this?
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